


You Should Get a Life

by asomethingwish



Series: endgame repair [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), F/M, Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-09 07:05:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18633235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asomethingwish/pseuds/asomethingwish
Summary: Endgame made me angry, so I had to fix some of it.





	You Should Get a Life

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place on the platform right after Steve has jumped back. Might not have the lines exactly right, but I only saw it once!

“Okay, I’m bringing him back in five! Four!”

Bucky takes a breath. He’s not surprised he was the only one who understood that Steve was saying goodbye. That this would be his final mission.

“Three!”

He hopes he found Peggy, and that they’re happy together.

“Two!”

He thinks of dancing with his best girl, and his heart aches. 

“One!”

The body that lands on the platform is half the size of Steve, dwarfed by that damn shield. 

“Nat?” Bruce’s voice cracks as she straightens on the platform.

Bucky’s heart has fully stopped. Her hair is as long as he’s ever seen it, and tightly braided, the ends still frosted blond but her natural red has grown back. Her green eyes are glistening with the tears that track down her cheeks. 

“Hey Bruce.” She half-waves, then turns. “Hi Sam.” She grins, stepping off the platform and up to a speechless Falcon. “Cap wanted you to have this.” She holds out the shield, and Sam reluctantly reaches for it.

“Nat, I-“ Bruce is still in shock behind the control panel, tears flowing freely down his face. “Welcome back.”

She takes a deep breath. “He said he had to do it. He told me the stones were back, and he’d had his dance, and now he could rest.”

Bucky’s brain is trying to process what he is seeing. She’s here. Somehow, against all odds, she’s here. Natalia is alive.

“Natalia.”

She spins, her face crumpling when their eyes meet. “James.”

He steps towards her and she sprints into his arms, taking a running leap that would’ve knocked down a lesser man. He threads his fingers in her hair and presses his face against her neck, breathing her in, unable to stop his tears. She has her arms locked around his neck, her legs wrapped around his waist, and he can feel her tears against his cheek. “I though I’d lost you again,” she whispers. 

“Me?” He pulls back, cupping her face in his hands. “What about you? Who told you you could make a choice like that?”

She laughs at him, and his heart soars. “It was the only way.” She runs her fingers along his face, and he instinctively leans into her touch. “The only way to bring you back.” Her forehead rests against his and their eyes close. 

Bucky swallows, then sighs. “I think you should go see Barton.” They untangle, and she gives him one last smile before walking away. 

He turns to watch her, and Sam comes up next to him.

“Wanna tell me about her?” He asks cheekily. 

Bucky chuckles. “No.” He turns to Sam and smirks. “Not without her permission. She’s the only one here who can kill me.” He pauses. “Well, her and that glowing lady.”

Sam looks down at the shield. “I don’t think I’m ready for this.”

“I don’t think you are either,” he teases. “But Steve did. And that’s what matters.”

They both look up as Barton cries out, embracing Nat and falling to the ground. Laura is running over, Fury and the others just behind her. Bruce lumbers by to join them.

Sam clasps his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Bucky.”

He nods. “I’m not. I got to grow up with Steve Rogers, a scrawny guy with a heart too big for his body. Captain America was a punk kid from Brooklyn who liked to bite off more than he could chew. I was certain the stress of keeping him alive would send me to an early grave. Besides, look what he gave me.”

Sam snorts. “An assassin?”

Bucky rolls his eyes. “A life, Sam. He gave me the chance to live a real life again. Me and Natasha.”

The woman is question is currently trying to untangle herself from the mass of children swarming her, her smile stretched across her whole face. Bucky feels his heart swell again. God he’d missed her. 

Their eyes meet across the lawn, and Bucky has to stop himself from running to her. They have time for this. They have all the time in the world, thanks to Steve.


End file.
